Thursday, November 5, 2009

NaNoWriMo, day 5

I think I've lost my momentum. Either that or the headache I woke with has mushed my brain. I've written maybe 50 words so far today and those took me all day to think of. Still, I'm happy with my progress. It's so exciting to push myself into achieving a certain level of writing every day. I'm proving I can do something I'd always told myself was impossible.

My excuses have always revolved around lack of time and too many things to do and to a degree that's true. I'm not accomplishing anything else, that's for sure. The headache is probably from too many hours at the computer and not enough time doing something else - anything else that gets me moving. Poor sleep because I keep thinking about the book has probably contributed to it as well. My response? Too bad. I had a massage and a rest and now I'm getting back into the writing. I want to write at least 1000 words tonight to make sure I stay above the daily target.

I've been posting the first 200 words of each day onto the nano site but I thought I'd start doing that here too. Here's the excerpt from Day 1 - it's probably the best thought-out part and therefore the best written. Expect it to go downhill from here.

The blast knocked Starr sideways, wrenching his wrists against the drive manacles. The ship lurched, evening out as he regained his seat and settled his grip on the controls. Too close. “Brett, we’re going to have to disengage.”“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”Starr gritted his teeth against the annoyance rising in him. Seven years and he still couldn’t get the control system to volunteer information.“Tell me why disengaging when we’re under attack would be a bad idea in this instance.”“There’s a life form on board. Faint.”Fuck. He sighed and released his wrists from the drive. “Brett, hold position and protect us the best you can until I get back.”“That’s it then? You’re leaving?”All that programming and the only thing Starr’d managed to achieve with Brett was a slight lisp in the system’s morose tone. “I’ll just grab this person and come straight back. You’ll be monitoring me so you won’t be totally alone.” The words came automatically as he snapped a blaster into his hip holster and checked the position of his knives and explosives. “I’ll be back soon. Try to keep them from destroying us.”